The Blues Blog (6) A regular round-up of new releases It’s true that familiarity breeds contempt, and I’m beginning to wish I’d never established a dialogue with our Gary Moore-admiring Postman. This morning he’s wearing a wry smile as he hands over the parcel from Mr. Bangs. “Lots of ladies in there for you”, he smirks, “squeaking the blues. Like they do”. Fool that I am I move to remonstrate with a roll call of some of the finest female voices in the music’s eighty year history; but for every Victoria Spivey, Bessie Smith or Shemekia Copeland I throw at him he simply shakes his head ruefully, as though each name further proves the futility of women singing, or trying to sing, the blues. Finally in desperation I splutter: “Janis Joplin then. What about Janis?”, and at last I seem to gain some footing. “Ah, Janis. That’s different.” And looking at me as though I’d unwittingly stumbled on some secret truth I had no right to know, adds condescendingly, “Janis rocks!” Whether or not you share our friend’s parochialism, there’s no doubt that the spirit of Port Arthur’s most famous daughter hangs over not only this week’s releases but, forty years on, much of the current international blues scene. “Miss Understood” (Ruf), the new album by singer/guitarist Carolyn Wonderland for example displays unmistakable echoes of Ms. Joplin’s trademark throaty style, and coming from Texas she has many of the same inflections. In its own right, however this twelve track set rocks along in feisty fashion, and determined guitar licks and sensitively arranged accompaniments help make it consistently enjoyable. Seven original songs stand up to those borrowed from Terri Hendrix, J.J. Cale and others, including a blistering version of Rick Derringer’s “Still Alive and Well”, while the more reflective “Bad Girl Blues” and “I Don’t Want to Fall For You” show she can ballad with the best of ‘em. One of Janis’s biggest achievements was to give other women singers the confidence to lead otherwise all-male bands. Backing on “Red Top”, Liz Mandeville’s fourth offering for Earwig comes from a serious collection of hardened studio pros, augmented by star guests including sax legend Eddie Shaw, and their collective quality shines through on numbers such as “Dog No More”, “My Baby’s Her Baby Too” and “Hold Me”. There’s much to commend the Chicago blues, soul and swing presented here, although listeners with an aversion to “witty” lyrics may find the regrettable “Spanky Butt” to be one of the most cringe-worthy things they’ve heard since the heyday of Ray Stevens. The strident husky sound of Amy Savage fronting the muscular blues arrangements of Hybrid Groove pretty much wears its influences on its sleeve. If not Big Brother and the Holding Company they’re at least Canned Heat backing Christine Perfect, but the inclusion of “Summertime” is a bit of a clue. Classic dual guitar/harmonica interplay underwrites opening rocker “Jack” and the gently swampy “Mother Nature”, while “Missing Me” and “Downhearted Blues” work up a pleasant funk. The choice of imported material including “Stormy Monday” and “Born Under a Bad Sign” is a little predictable, but beefy arrangements and forthright delivery makes them distinctive enough to merit inclusion. As the most established artist on Ruf Record’s “Blues Caravan 2008” Deborah Coleman also has a winning way with covers. Her headlining set on this live recording from the Bonn leg of the tour in January tops off what must have been a fabulous evening in accomplished style, rumbling through numbers normally associated with ZZ Top and Etta James before climaxing with a revealing and fully justified “Whole Lotta Love”. Earlier Californian Candye Kane sings eulogies to the fuller figure with a big voice in a more traditional manner, and leaves lots of room for house band guitarist Laura Chavez to strut her stuff. The real revelation of this package however is Dani Wilde. It’s difficult to recall a white British woman of this or any other generation performing blues music with quite as much raw commitment and soul-filled passion. Her four self-penned songs which open the show come damned close to stealing it, while “I Love You More Than I Hate Myself” is a genuine “Ball and Chain” moment. She’s a real find and we will hear much more from her. Steve Mann is something of an enigma, having made three albums in the sixties featuring his warm voice and gentle picking before disappearing from public view due to severe mental illness. He was, however, a friend and compatriot of many future Bay area luminaries including Sonny and Cher, Taj Mahal, Dr John, and significantly Jefferson Airplane’s Jorma Kaukonen. It was through the latter that he met and performed with the young Janis Joplin, and sensationally, on the second of these two Bella Roma releases, we can hear some of her earliest recorded material in the form of three impromptu standards from 1964. Reissue “Live at the Ash Grove” comprises ten songs from a solo performance before a small audience in intimate surroundings where his jazz-inflected folk blues renditions of standard material (“Parchment Blues”, “She Caught the Katy”) blend well into the coffee house atmosphere. Subsequently hospitalized, sometimes sleeping rough, Mann fell from view until coming under the wing of friends and supporters at Bella Roma who have since helped him to regain direction in both his personal life and his career. “Alive and Kicking” is something of a labour love by them, bringing together rare and forgotten live tapes and home recordings from surprising sources including Stefan Grossman and Erik Frandsen, and packaging them with “Hasta Luego” a recent instrumental heralding his artistic return. Without detracting in any way from the value of Steve’s own work, the undoubted jewel in the crown here however is the triumvirate of “Two Nineteen Train”, “Trouble in Mind” and “Winin’ Boy Blues” which, although distant and scratchy like a 1930’s field recording, give an intriguing glimpse of the majestic voice which would go on to delight and inspire so many in the years to come. Neil B. www.rufrecords.de www.earwigmusic.com www.hybridgroove.com www.bellaromamusic.com Next